About Me
Charles Olney, Associate Professor of Constitutional Law and Judicial Politics at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley (academic website). This is a blog about music, politics, and the law. I also write about women’s soccer at Backline Soccer and Stars and Stripes FC.
Bluesky: olneyce
Soundcloud: olneyce
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Recent Posts
Greatest Hits
- Beatles from worst to first
- Top 25 albums of the decade
- Top 50 songs of the decade
- Top 10 Bruce Springsteen songs
- Top 10 Modest Mouse songs
- Top 10 Tom Petty songs
- Top 10 Carissa's Wierd songs
- Top 10 Paul Simon songs
- Top 10 Bob Dylan songs
- Top 10 breakup songs
- Top 20 albums of 2005
- Top 30 albums of 2006
- Top 40 songs of 2006
- Top 25 albums of 2007
- Top 40 songs of 2007
- Top 25 albums of 2008
- Top 40 songs of 2008
- Top 30 albums of 2009
- Top 40 songs of 2009
- Top 25 albums of 2010
- Top 40 songs of 2010
- Top 15 albums of 2011
- Top 40 songs of 2011
- Top 20 albums of 2012
- Top 40 songs of 2012
- Top 30 albums of 2013
- Top 50 songs of 2013
- Top 25 albums of 2014
- Top 50 songs of 2014
- Top 30 albums of 2015
- Top 50 songs of 2015
- Top 15 albums of 2016
- Top 40 songs of 2016
- Top 25 albums of 2017
- Top 50 songs of 2017
- Top 30 albums of 2018
- Top 50 songs of 2018
Music links
- Hype Machine
- elbo.ws
- Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good
- Can you see the sunset from the southside?
- Hits in the Car
- A Certain Romance
- Herohill
- Speed of Dark
- Lost in your Inbox
- Vague Space
- Skatterbrain
- I Guess I'm Floating
- Largehearted Boy
- Neon Gold
- Another Form of Relief
- Cover Lay Down
- The Monsters Under the Bed Are Not Real
- Yellow Stereo
- Quick Before It Melts
- Knox Road
- Sand is Overrated
- Shake Your Fist
Recent Comments
- R on The songs everyone should hear
- Heather on The Beatles from worst to first
- Eize Basa on Top 40 Songs of 2021
- George Patterson on By the grace of God go I into the great unknown
- link alternatif usernesia on With four worn out limbs and not one love song
Archives
Meta
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Category Archives: Uncategorized
To Defend the Rule of Law, Democrats Should Filibuster
I wrote an Op-Ed for the Austin American Statesman about Gorsuch, Garland, and why the Democrats should filibuster. The presidency of Donald Trump poses significant questions about core principles of American democracy: checks and balances, and the separation of power. A … Continue reading
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The Democratic Party at a Crossroads: Practical Advice for Rebuilding American Democracy
The Democratic Party is at a crossroads . The first two weeks of the Trump administration have catalyzed a powerful wave of protest and political action—the likes of which haven’t been seen in decades. There was a lot of talk … Continue reading
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Top 100 songs of all-time: the top 10
Kurt Vonnegut said that “a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit.” I think that’s exactly right. And these are the songs that make me appreciate being alive. My existence would … Continue reading
Top 100 songs of all-time: 11-20
We’re entering the heights now. These are the songs that blow my world away every time I hear them, songs that make life worth living, songs that are as holy as the work of Michelangelo or Keats or Austen. Spotify playlist with … Continue reading
Top 100 songs of all-time: 21-30
We’re getting close to the top of the list now, and it’s really difficult to draw a line between many of these songs. They’re all basically perfect–and the question is really just how many degrees of infinity I can try … Continue reading
Top 100 songs of all-time: 31-40
Many of my favorite songs of love and loss here. From the passions of youth to the quiet resignation of age, and everything in between. Spotify playlist with (almost) every song from this project. 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90, … Continue reading
Top 100 songs of all-time: 41-50
Today we have a whole bunch of songs from the 90s and early 2000s, along with the only pre-1964 track to make the list. Though as I write that, I realize that I really should have thought more seriously about … Continue reading
Top 100 songs of all-time: 51-60
Songs from a fairly narrow time band of the mid 90s to early 2000s, with three very different songs of the late 60s to balance things out. Spotify playlist with (almost) every song from this project. 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, … Continue reading
Top 100 songs of all-time: 61-70
Spotify playlist with (almost) every song from this project. 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90, 91-100 70. Like A Prayer – Madonna (1989) A rumination on Catholic guilt, the boundlessness of human sexuality, and the power of pop music to … Continue reading
Top 100 songs of all-time: 71-80
With this installment, we’re living almost entirely in the bubble of late 90s/early 2000s white people rock. And the one major exception is a Velvet Underground track that in many ways could count as the first mover of the wave that would … Continue reading